Oh, January, how I dislike you. The fun of the holidays is over: you can no longer eat Christmas cookies every day without feeling a twinge of guilt and extra junk in the trunk; no longer can you have hot chocolate every time you play in the snow; no longer can you watch Christmas movies on a Saturday morning while piles of laundry grow in your basement; no longer can you have your sparkly Christmas tree without the fear of it losing all its needles at once or spontaneously combusting; no longer can you take an afternoon off of work to get "some shopping done" without your co-workers and boss raising a collective eyebrow.

Can you tell the kiddos are back to school and I don't have a day off until MLK day? I took the Christmas tree down yesterday; the decorations have been stashed away until next year. And our meals are missing the extra sugar, spice, heavy cream and butter that the holidays bring with it. Harrumph.

I do enjoy the simplicity of life after the holidays and the starkness of meals that highlight each ingredient instead of smothering it in richness., but at heart, I'm a girl who loves the indulgences of the holiday season (Champagne, anyone?). So, without further ado, here's what we're eating this week.

Menu: Week of 5 January 2013
Saturday: a family favorite: Locro de papas with avocado
Sunday: turkey meatloaf, mashed sweet potatoes and mixed greens vinaigrette with dried cranberries and toasted walnuts
Monday: spicy shrimp with yogurt and whole-wheat naan from the new (and awesome) Dinner: A Love Story cookbook
Tuesday: Carrot soup with crusty bread and mixed greens salad
Wednesday: dhal of the day with basmati rice
Thursday: spaghetti and meatballs (from the freezer); steamed broccoli with lemon and pine nuts
Friday: spinach Florentine pizza

happy eating, -s.

Who doesn't like pizza? Pickle doesn't, that's who! Chris and I enjoyed this pizza a lot. Pickle ate the apples in the salad. A somewhat successful dinner ... hopefully it's more successful when you make it. When I made this for the photo shoot, I forgot to sauté the spinach when making the sauce, so it was chiffonaded and sprinkled on top. It was just one of those crazy post-work nights when nothing goes as planned ... but, I got dinner on the table and we ate together. Success!

This pizza is simple and straightforward so be sure to use the best ingredients possible so all the flavors can shine. Homemade dough (or very delicious store-bought) and homemade sauce cannot be substituted. The sauce freezes well, so any leftovers can be stashed away for the next pizza night at your place.

Pizza with homemade tomato sauce and Genoa salami
Serves two adults and two hungry bambinos, with some leftovers

Ingredients
For the sauce
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small carrot finely grated
1 large onion, diced
3 springs of fresh thyme
1 cup of spinach leaves
1-28 oz can of whole plum tomatoes, blitzed in the food processor until chunky
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
a few grinds of black peppercorns

Directions
In a medium saucepan over medium, heat oil until shimmery. Add onion and saute until softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add carrot and saute for 1-2 minutes, until softened. Add the spinach leaves and saute until wilted, 1-2 minutes as well. Add the tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or pepper if needed.

For the pizza
1 batch of homemade pizza dough (see my recipe here)
1/3 cup of pizza sauce: see above
8 oz. mozzarella or provolone cheese, grated
1/4 c. of finely grated parmigiano reggiano (optional)
9 thin slices of Genoa Salami

Equipment: 1 sheet pan

Directions
At least 30 minutes in advance, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make sure that a rack is positioned at the lowest level possible.

On a flour-dusted counter, pat out dough evenly with your fingers (or use a rolling pin) to the size of your sheet pan. Using a rolling pin, lift the dough and place it on the pan. Pressing the edges of the dough out to the edges of the pan, if needed.

Top the dough with the sauce (add more sauce if you like that, but note that the more sauce you add the less cripsy the crust will be), spreading it with back of a spoon to within 1/4-inch of the edge. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce and then top with the slices of salami. Shower each slice of salami with the grated parmigiano.

Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 15 minutes (give or take a couple of minutes, depending on your oven). The pizza should be bubbly, browned and the salami should have crisp edges. Transfer with a metal spatula to a cutting board. Cut pizza into wedges and serve immediately with apple-celery slaw (see recipe below).

Apple-Celery Slaw with toasted nuts
Serves 4 adults and/or bambinos

Ingredients
1 large apple, julienned (1/8-inch-thick matchsticks)
2 stalks of celery, julienned (1/8-inch-thick matchsticks)
1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
large pinch of kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper -- 2-3 grinds
2 teaspoons toasted walnut oil (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted, chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons toasted, chopped walnuts

Directions
In a large serving bowl, whisk together the vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper and walnut oil (if using). While whisking, slowly whisk in the olive oil to create an emulsified liquid. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed ... adding more vinegar, more maple syrup, more olive oil, etc.

Add the apples and celery and gently fold in dressing to coat evenly. Serve garnished with either the toasted peanuts for the kids and the walnuts for the adults.

Happy eating, -s.

Spinach-Ricotta Frittata with wholegrain toast and balsamic-macerated strawberries
A flute with no holes is not a flute. A donut with no hole is a danish ... And a quiche with no crust is a frittata! Sorry, couldn't help myself with the Caddyshack reference. Anyway, frittatas are versatile little numbers that can be decked out with any number of fillings, both vegetable and protein alike. Just start with a quick sauté of the "filling" and then add the egg mixture. The addition of the fresh ricotta adds a creaminess and fluffiness that elevates it from the standard egg-and-milk base typically utilized.

Spinach-Ricotta Frittata
Serves 2 adults, 2 hungry bambinos

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
Half a large onion sliced thinly into half moons
4 handfuls of baby spinach leaves, large stems removed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated cheese: something nutty like an aged cheddar, Parmigiano or gruyere

Accompaniment: wholegrain toast with butter and balsamic-macerated strawberries (recipe below)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Coat the bottom of a large ovenproof skillet with the olive oil. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper to taste and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent and very aromatic, 5 to 7 minutes. Add spinach until wilted and tender, roughly 2-3 minutes

Meanwhile, whisk eggs until frothy; add ricotta and whisk until smooth (some elbow grease is needed for this step). Fold in cheese.

Add the egg mixture to the sautéed onions and spinach and stir to incorporate the vegetables evenly. Cook the frittata on the stovetop until the eggs start to set (1-2 minutes, then transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until firm.

Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Or let cool and serve at room temperature.


Balsamic-macerated strawberries
The Italians call sweet-and-sour agrodolce and this is a perfect treatment for California strawberries whose flavor cannot hold a candle to sun-ripened, local, in-season strawberries for which we have to wait many months to enjoy! In cooking terms, macerate means to soak in a liquid in order of soften. Just don't let these soak too long, or they'll get mushy.

Ingredients
1 pint strawberries, preferably organic, quartered
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons honey
Pinch of sea salt
2 twist of freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil the balsamic vinegar until reduce to a syrupy liquid. Remove from heat and add honey, salt and pepper. Swirl to combine and allow to cool slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed

Place strawberries in a bowl and drizzle with the honey-vinegar mixture. Stir to coat berries and allow them to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Happy eating, -s.

Sarah's Chicken Saag Curry served with basmati rice and wholegrain flatbread
Serves 2 adults, 2 hungry bambinos with leftovers for lunches
This is my lightened-up version of Chicken Tikka Masala. While butter and heavy cream make everything taste better, your backside doesn't need it on a weeknight. I used four split chicken breasts in making this originally, but since chicken breasts come in only double-D size now, I think three should suffice.

Ingredients
3 split chicken breast
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper

¼ cup sliced almonds
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
A small pinch of dried chili flakes
1-28 oz. can of whole plum tomatoes with their juices
1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves

2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, but really lovely)
1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted, to garnish (optional, but again, lovely)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Accompaniments:
Basmati rice
Fabulous Flats wholegrain "tandoori naan": This is not the naan you get at an Indian restaurant, but it's pretty darn good. Whole Foods carries this brand and their own version. Both work.

Directions
The night before: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place chicken breast on the baking sheet and lightly coat skin with olive oil and generous pinches of kosher salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes (depending on the size of the breasts. Let cool 15 minutes. Shred the meat into bite-size pieces and store covered in the refrigerator.

The day of: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the almonds until finely ground. With machine running, add the ginger and garlic cloves until finely minced. Add cumin, coriander, paprika, chili and tomatoes, yogurt, honey and salt and blend until smooth. Set aside.

*Start cooking your basmati rice now and preheat your oven to 400 degrees for heating the flatbread.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the whole spices; cook 30 seconds to a minute. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook them until softened and lightly browned, but stir often, to avoid sticking. Raise heat to medium high and add spinach and sauté until wilted and some of its water has been released, about 3-5 minutes. Pour in the puree, and cook everything until it begins to boil and thicken slightly, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in the shredded chicken and golden raisins. Sprinkle the garam masala and salt over the mixture; stir to combine. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, allowing all the flavors to meld and chicken to reheat. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves.

Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed. Scatter with the toasted almonds and cilantro. Spoon over mounds of fluffy basmati rice. Serve with flatbread.

*Follow the directions on the package for cooking rice, but generally it is a 2-to-1 ratio of water to rice; bring to a boil, turn to low and cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, I place a kitchen towel over the pot, put the lid back on and let the rice sit off the heat for 5-10 minutes. This yields very fluffy rice. For the flatbread, I throw them in the oven directly on a grate and let them crisp up a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Once out of the oven, brush with melted butter or olive oil.

Happy eating, -s.

Panko-crusted American farm-raised tilapia tacos with avocado crema and a black-bean salad

Fish Tacos
You can pretty much use any fish you’d like for this. I love whole-wheat panko, but for some reason the crumbs are a bit more robust in size that the white panko, so I crush them ever-so-slightly for more uniformity when coating.

Serves 2 adults and 2 hungry bambinos

Ingredients
4 tilapia fillets
¼ cup flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk (preferably whole or 2%)
¾ cup whole-wheat panko (slightly pulverized with a rolling pin)
¼ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

8-10 corn tortillas (heated just before dinner in oven or microwave)
Optional (but yummy) garnishes: sliced radishes, microgreens or sprouts, cilantro leaves

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a Ziploc bag, add flour and a generous pinch of salt. In another Ziploc bag, add panko and gently roll with a rolling pin a few times to break of the really big pieces of panko. In a flat dish, whisk the egg and milk together, season with a pinch salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Season each fillet with salt and pepper and place in the flour bag, shaking it gently to evenly coat the fillets. Dunk each fillet in the egg mixture and then one at a time shake in the panko. Place coated fillets on a plate while you coat the rest.

Preheat a large skillet. Add olive oil and when hot add two fillets. Cook 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Flip carefully and cook an additional 3 minutes. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and pop into the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining fillets. Serve immediately in warm corn tortillas or keep warm in the oven while you prep the other components.

Avocado crema
In our house, avocado is king. Click here for a mind-blowing list of stats on why avocado is oh-so-good for you. This creamy fruit is loaded with fiber, filled with good fat and packed with B vitamins.

Ingredients
1 avocado, ripe as hell
½ cup sour cream or Mexican crema
Zest and juice of half of a lime (zest first, juice second)
1-2 tablespoons tap water
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Few grinds of black pepper

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add all of the ingredients. Pulse a few times to get things going and then process until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning; add more salt, lime juice, cumin as needed.

Black-bean salad
This recipe is great because it can be changed to what you have in the pantry and to what cuisine you are cooking. This version is great with Mexican, Latin and Tex Mex flavors. It’s simple and easy to execute. Enough said.

Ingredients
15 oz. of cooked black beans, either canned or homemade, rinsed and drained
1 small red onion, finely diced – rinsed in cold water for a few minute and drained
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
Kosher of raw vegetable of your choice: halved grape tomatoes, diced cucumber, chopped roasted red peppers, grated carrot
Cilantro, a large handful, chopped

Directions
In a large bowl, add the onion, the lime juice and a large pinch of salt. Stir to combine. This will slightly “pickle” the onion and kill some of oniony-ness. Prep everything else and then add to the bowl, stirring to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Note: if you are making this a day ahead, don’t add the cilantro until right before serving.

Happy eating, -s.

As you can tell by the title, making weeknight meals — healthful, palate-satisfying ones for both grown-ups and kids — is a little overwhelming. My dear friend Shannon, a mother of two darling boys as well as a full-time pediatrician, is my inspiration for the next few posts that will tackle several things:
1. Meals that can be shopped for on the weekend that will take you through Thursday of each week and that share ingredients to save money, time and space in the fridge.
2. Meals that satisfy the palates of grown-ups and youngsters.
3. Meals that can be either prepped the evening before or made once home from work or running the kids to all their activities (and on the table by 7 p.m.)
4. Healthful, balanced meals that feature seasonal or local produce

Daunting, huh?

Shannon’s boys have gotten a little bit pickier recently, but they are not afraid of flavor (which is good!). And while Shannon doesn’t want them to go to bed hungry, her mantra is “you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!” (Love it!). She has a good set of recipes in her arsenal, but these are getting a little overplayed. What she needs is inspiration. That’s where I come in!

The boys love quesadillas and other Mexican food, pasta, Indian (Tikka Masala in particular and Naan), quiche (depending upon what is in it), pizza, and their favorite, macaroni and cheese!

My goal is to spice up their current menu, while providing some alternative proteins (eggs, fish, and beans) into the mix and highlight some readily available, seasonal or local produce.

Here’s the menu:
Monday: Panko-crusted American farm-raised tilapia tacos with avocado crema and a black-bean salad
Fish. It’s so darn good for you and growing brains! Responsibly farmed US tilapia is a great choice since it's mild in flavor, not too expensive and readily available at your fishmonger or grocer. Most kids (except mine!) like crunchy textures and this definitely has some crunch with the whole-wheat panko (I use Ian's brand). The avocado crema adds some creamy coolness to the tacos and the black-bean salad provides some complexity for adventurous little palates and grown-ups, too.

Tuesday: Sarah's Chicken Saag (Spinach) curry with shredded chicken, served with basmati rice and wholegrain flatbread
This not-so-hidden vegetable curry is my riff on Tikka Masala without all the cream and butter (okay, there's a little butter). Simple roasted chicken breasts provide the protein and can be prepped the evening prior making both adults and kids happy. Wholegrain flatbread instead of buttery, white-flour naan will still hit the spot with the kids, while the grown-ups will like the more complex flavors and the easy prep.

Wednesday: Spinach Ricotta Frittata with wholegrain toast and balsamic-macerated strawberries

Shannon’s boys like quiche. I took the buttery crust out of the equation with this egg-based dish. The fresh ricotta makes the frittata light and fluffy, while providing a boost of calcium. Leftover ricotta is great on waffles with jam, on bruschetta with arugula and honey, or my favorite way, by the spoonful.

Thursday: Pizza with homemade red sauce and Genoa salami served with an apple-celery slaw
The secret is in the sauce. Grated carrot is a traditional Italian component of basic tomato sauce used to enhance its inherent sweetness, but I throw in chopped spinach or grated zucchini into mine for the hidden vegetable factor. This pizza is all about the salami that gets deliciously crispy edges while in the oven. I search out nitrate-free salami when kids are eating it. Applegate Farms is one brand I like to use. And the apple-celery slaw is dressed in a maple-sherry vinaigrette and garnished with toasted peanuts for the kids and walnuts for the adults.

So, the next several posts will feature each day's recipes and their side dishes. At the end, I'll put together a grocery list to make it easy to execute the entire menu in one go. My goal is to have you prepped, shopped and ready to roll for the week ahead.

Happy eating, -s.

We were out of town on Saturday, so no market trip this week. We still had some veggies leftover from our CSA delivery, so I was able to scrape together a menu for the week. I’ve also included a recipe that has been a favorite of ours for a while – originally a recipe from Marc Bittman’s Minimalist column in the NY Times, but has slowly morphed into something vaguely reminiscent. It’s a quick and satisfying dish ... Pickle scarfed it down in record time, including some from his dad’s plate.

Menu: week of 9 August 2009
Sunday: Eggs poached in tomatoes served crusty bread
Monday: Sautéed greens and potato tacos with green chile salsa and goat cheese
Tuesday: Zucchini, sweet corn and bacon pasta with caramelized cippolini onions … mmm, bacon and corn.
Wednesday: Chris is cooking … hopefully BLTs with the first tomatoes of the season with green beans vinaigrette
Thursday: Grilled sausage and peppers … on a bun or tossed with pasta – TBD
Friday: BLT pizza with tomatoes, bacon and arugula with a roasted garlic aioli – can't get enough BLTs!

Rhys’s dinners:
Sunday: Eggs poached in tomatoes served crusty bread
Monday: Sautéed greens and potatoes with shredded cheese and six-grain toast.
Tuesday: Ricotta frittata with zucchini, corn and bacon with six-grain toast
Wednesday: Leftover frittata
Thursday: Four-cheese ravioli with a winter squash sauce (recipe coming soon!)
Friday: Leftover ravioli with sautéed peppers


Eggs poached in tomatoes
Serves two adults; one hungry bambino

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ a large red onion, diced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2-3 chile de arbol, broken into pieces
1-2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
1, 28-oz. can organic San Marzano tomatoes; blitzed in food processor until chunky
6 extra-large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Crusty bread, warmed in oven

Directions:
Over medium heat, warm oil in large sauté pan with lid until shimmering; add chiles, rosemary and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onions and a large pinch of salt and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring; reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook 10 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes a generous pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Cook until sauce is bubbling. Crack eggs over sauce and season with salt and pepper; cover pan. Cook until whites are set and yolks are still slightly runny, about 5 minutes. Serve in a bowl with bread for scooping up the sauce.

It was a two-basket trip to the market this week. Pickle wanted to be carried half-way through our circuit, so the stroller took over as a cart for all of our goodies. The weather is finally getting warm again and with that a return to more summery cooking. Our menu this week is loaded with vegetables – some more successfully executed than others (more on that in a later post).

We picked up kale from our favorite heirloom tomato vendor who sells other gorgeous produce when her tomatoes are ripening (her red-skinned potatoes are also divine). I asked her when the first tomatoes will be at the market and she promised this coming Saturday! So, some tomato- and, hopefully, corn-heavy menus will be coming soon!

At the Market
Baby zucchini
Baby Yukon golds
Banana peppers
Blueberries
Carrots
Cilantro
English peas, shelled
Gentle Breeze honey
Green-leaf lettuce
Golden beets
Italian flat-leaf parsley
Kale
Raspberries
Sweet cherries

Pickle the picky eater?!
Pickle has decided not to like any of the food he used to scarf down. Anything in sandwich form will pass his lips, but the batch of gorgeous spinach-ricotta ravioli I just cooked up is barely getting a glance; tragic, indeed.

Here are some sandwiches I’ve been experimenting with (all are on toasted six-grain bread):
Scrambled egg, melted cheese, avocado and yogurt-curry sauce (Greek yogurt, Madras curry powder, squeeze of lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper to taste)
Almond butter, mashed bananas, Organic Valley cream cheese
Fried egg (cooked yolk), green-leaf lettuce and veggie-herb cream cheese spread (softened cream cheese, yellow roasted peppers, parsley, cilantro blitzed in food processor)
Roasted zucchini and purple bell peppers with melted Cedar Grove Cheddar and garlic-herb chevre
Up next: roasted beet and goat cheese

Menu: week of 26 July 2009
Sunday: Grilled sirloin steak sandwiches on toasted sourdough rolls with chimichurri (parsley, cilantro, garlic, red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, blitzed in the food processor)
Monday: Holley's garlicky sautéed kale on ricotta bruschetta
Tuesday: Farfalle with green beans in a mint-pea pesto
Wednesday: Roasted zucchini and purple bell peppers with melted Cedar Grove Cheddar and garlic-herb chevre with roasted Yukon golds
Thursday: Chicken burgers with quick pickles and romesco sauce on whole-wheat buns and served with a roasted beet salad
Friday: Pizza with sautéed banana peppers and Fraboni’s sausage

One last item for the ladies: a great little article on the how and why of eating organic (it says you can drink red wine, so I’m buying it!): http://blogs.webmd.com/health-ehome/2009/07/5-organic-foods-every-woman-should-eat.html?ecd=wnl_lbt_072909

Our CSA just started up and we are really looking forward to a change in our Saturday morning routine. Every other weekend we’ll be hitting the Mermaid Café for breakfast and our veggie pickup instead of hitting the market. This year we joined Driftless Organics' CSA and so far it’s been a good pick. The boxes are overflowing and the produce is gorgeous.

Our first breakfast/pickup with Pickle went well; I had a proud-mom-moment when Pickle chose to eat my curried egg and avocado sandwich over my husband’s maple-syrup drenched whole-grain waffle! My little culinary adventurer in the making!

In our CSA box:
Basil
Broccoli
Cilantro
Fennel
Green butter lettuce (2 heads)
Green onions
Green garlic
Radishes
Spinach
Strawberries
Sugar-snap peas

Menu: week of 28 June 2009
Sunday: Grilled tri-tip steak – Santa Maria Valley-style – with baby romaine salad and baked beans.
Monday: Leftover steak thinly sliced and served with an Asian slaw of cabbage, broccoli and carrot in a curried-peanut dressing (see posted recipe)
Tuesday: Turkey meatloaf sandwiches with tomato jam, butter lettuce salad with edamame and chopped broccoli in an herbed buttermilk dressing
Wednesday: Grilled fish with a cilantro-lime yogurt sauce and sautéed veggies
Thursday: Whole-wheat pasta with sautéed spinach, Fraboni’s Italian sausage and red onion
Friday: Pizza and a movie (even a foodie needs a night off!)

Pickle’s Menu:
Lunches: squash ravioli, fregole (toasted pearl-shaped pasta) in Mario Batali's red sauce, berries, ricotta frittata, shredded cheese
Dinner: gnocchi in Mario's red sauce; sautéed spinach, spinach cacik (aka tzatziki) with whole-wheat naan, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday menus above.

Since I work full time, Pickle goes to daycare, or as we call it at home, "school." I pack his snacks and lunches for school every day and it's really tough sometimes to ensure that he's getting what he needs nutrition-wise while not consuming all of my free time cooking specific meals for him. This is a great article to quantify how much food a toddler needs. It's not as much as you think.

In one of my blogs, I shared with you my pancake recipe. Well, I have to say that "cakes" in general are a great way to pack in a meal's nutritional requirements of protein, dairy, vegetable/fruit and grains:
Fish cakes (salmon, tuna, cod, tilapia, shrimp)
Bean cakes (lentils and chickpeas, too)
Grain cakes (bulgur, quinoa, whole-wheat couscous, wheatberries, brown rice)
Veggie cakes (roasted mushrooms, eggplants, squash, potato, zucchini, carrot, turnip, parsnip, the possibilities are endless!)

Here's a link to a family favorite from Everyday Food: veggie burgers. These are very versatile and can easily accommodate what you have in your pantry and fridge. Switch the pinto beans with black beans; quinoa for bulgur; unsweetened almond butter for tahini; the list goes on and on for substitutions.

Inspired by some crab cakes I recently made for Chris's birthday, I am working on a fish cake recipe that I'll post soon.

So here are some recent lunches/snacks Rhys has taken to school with him:
3-4 RP's Pasta Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli — diced into bite-size pieces
One hard-boiled egg, diced
Raspberries, quartered
P.M. snack: diced bananas dusted in pulverized whole-wheat graham crackers

Whole-wheat cinnamon-banana pancakes, cubed
Shredded cheddar cheese from Cedar Grove Dairy
Strawberries, diced
P.M. snack: blueberry applesauce and Cascadian Farm Organic Os (contains no sugar)

Ricotta Frittata with spinach and red peppers, cubed
Diced avocado
Blueberries, quartered.
P.M. snack: whole-wheat graham crackers with cream cheese (broken into small pieces) and diced melon

Other lunch-time helpers I love:
Box graters: great for grating more than cheese, especially those things that fall into the “choking hazard” category — apples, pears, carrots, zucchini, sweet potato.
Electric Scale: helps you “eyeball” accurate portions
Steamer-basket insert: steaming preserves a lot of the vitamins in vegetables

Making lunch for a toddler who only wants to feed himself is tough. So many options fall into the “choking hazard” category and others are on the just-too-messy side of self-feeding (um, soup). Plus, you want food that is nutritious and meets their daily requirements of fruits, veggies, dairy and protein. Woo, I’m overwhelmed already!

Here is my fail-safe, go-to recipe that can be modified to your child’s likes and dislikes: pancakes.

Yep, whole-wheat pancakes filled with fruits or vegetables, dairy or protein – the options are endless. I usually grate the fillings, which means you don’t have to pre-cook them. I make a big batch, freeze them in waxed paper bags housed in a freezer Ziploc and voila! Instant breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just pop them in the toaster on defrost and cut them into bite-size cubes. I don't serve these with syrup or anything, except the carrot ones; they just screamed "raita."

Here are some flavor combinations Pickle loves:
Apple/Pear and Cheddar from Cedar Grove Cheese
Zucchini and Marieke Gouda from Holland’s Family Farm
Carrot and Cumin, served with a cilantro-mint raita (yogurt sauce)
Banana and nutmeg
Sweet potato and cinnamon

Still tinkering on some protein-based pancakes … I’ll keep you posted.

Master recipe for whole-wheat pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1-½ cups buttermilk, preferably organic
1 extra-large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

¾ cup of your choice of fillings – use the large holes on your box grater for the fillings; the exception are carrots and sweet potato; I use a fine grater for those.

Olive oil for frying the pancakes

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. In a large measuring cup, add buttermilk, egg and butter. Slowly add the liquids to the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined. Add the fillings slowly, checking consistency as you go.

Note: if you want to have super-fluffy pancakes, you can separate the yolk and white of the egg and whisk the whites until soft peaks form; then fold in whites once the liquids are incorporated.

Heat griddle or sauté pan over medium-low heat; add oil and cook in batches until bubbles appear on surface; flip and cook 1-2 more minutes. I use an ice cream scoop to get consistently sized cakes (about 1/4 cup).

I thought I would share with you what I bought at the farmers' market and this week's menu. If you're wondering if I have time for anything else besides cooking, I will be running on Sunday and Wednesday and Friday. Yes, it's hard to fit it all in when you get home from work at 5:45 p.m., but if I run I get to eat what I want!

At the Farmers' Market:
Asparagus
Red-leaf bib lettuce from Harmony Valley Farm
Rhubarb
Purple scallions
Crimini mushrooms
Spinach
Baby beets from Jones Valley Farm

Menu: week of 6 June 2009
Saturday: Curried Cream of Potato Soup with homemade Croutons
Sunday: Pizza with oven-roasted grape tomatoes, fresh ricotta and thyme
Monday: Thai lettuce wraps with coconut rice
Tuesday: Tacos of sautéed greens and crimini with chevre (recipe coming soon!)
Wednesday: Roasted asparagus with fried eggs, prosciutto and mustard-creme fraiche sauce
Thursday: Grilled pork tenderloin, with roasted beet, pistachio and goat cheese salad (recipe coming soon!)
Friday: Carry out and movie

P.S. I made a rhubarb crisp for a sweet treat throughout the week.

You hear it all of the time: yes, life changes drastically when you have a child, but no one talks about how much it changes for the food-obsessed.

I have been really struggling to keep my cooking-dinner-every-night mode going since our 14-month-old, Rhys, was born. At first, it wasn't too difficult: he nursed; we ate dinner as he slept; sleep-deprived coma would ensue; and we'd start all over again the next day.

Now that he's eating everything we're eating (diced or cut into pieces the size of a pencil eraser, of course!), getting dinner on the table when he's hungry (6 p.m.) versus the old days of eating dinner at 8 p.m., has been difficult to say the least.

Last year I had the summer off for maternity leave, and since Rhys would wake up at o-dark-30 even on Saturdays (didn't he know he could sleep in?), we would take advantage of it and hit the Dane County Farmers' Market with the other early birds. I would have über-fresh veggies to cook with all week and since I wasn't working, nap times for Rhys became cook times for me. It was a great set up ... that is until I went back to work. Work really gets in the way of living sometimes, doesn’t it?

So, here I am, trying to come up with food that inspires me, while providing nourishment for our little Pickle. This new lifestyle has challenged me to come up with new recipes and new approaches to cooking and now I want to share my hard-earned wisdom with other foodie parents who want to keep eating well once their hungry bambino has arrived.

Enjoy!